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The 964-series had a new look, and thoroughly new engineering. The engineering was complimented more than the styling: Georg Kacher, writing in Car magazine (Nov 1989) muttered that: "There's nothing wrong with cutting the drag from 0.395 to 0.32, nor with reducing the axle lift to zero, but I heartily dislike the styling changes that effected these improvements." These changes included fatter bumpers, crude side sill extensions with thick black rubber seals and a flip-up rear spoiler, though the cabin was little changed, continuing to feature cluttered instruments and buttons, a non-adjustable steering column and a seating position that did not accommodate Kacher's tall frame comfortably. Oh well: he nonetheless judged the rear-wheel-drive Carrera 2 to be "the most entertaining version yet of the 26-year old chassis", and "that progress has been made in almost every respect", saying that on the road, only the Ferrari 348 came close. He praised the "almost total absence of the frightening pendulum effect which could catch you in the old car... the rear-engined coupe has at last stopped playing naughty tricks." This was largely down to the fitment of coil springs with new semi-trailing arms instead of the old torsion bar rear suspension, and the provision of ABS brakes was a welcome bonus. The Carrera 2, 250bhp with its catalytic converter and accelerating from 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds, came with five-speed manual or the new Tiptronic auto 'box with sequential-shift mode, controlled by buttons on the steering wheel - although even bargain-basement superminis come with similar set-ups these days, this was revolutionary for a production car in 1989. Also on offer was the manual-only Carrera 4 - as its nomenclature suggests, four-wheel drive, a system descended from that of the 959. Front airbags were now fitted, another new development for the dawning of the '90s.
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A Turbo model returned for 1991, with its 3.3-litre engine now developing 320bhp. Rear-wheel drive only, American mag Motor Trend clocked it at 4.8 seconds from 0-60mph, making it the fastest 911 yet, apart from the 959. Also quick was the latest iteration of the Carrera RS: a stripped-out, lightweight version of the Carrera 2, with the familiar whale tail wing. Just 2391 were made - but many look-alikes can still be seen. The Turbo was soon uprated, however; with a 3.6-litre engine (360bhp), a revised version hit the track in '92 and defended Porsche's title in the US supercar championships, beating Corvettes, Vipers and the most powerful production cars in the world. This model, the Turbo S, an enlarged RS 3.8 and an end-of-series jubilee edition (Carrera 4 with Turbo-look body, Turbo suspension and brakes, in plum-coloured metallic paint only) took the 911 up to its 30th anniversary, and the 964-series up to obsoletion.
1992 Carrera RS
1996 Carrera RS
1999 911 GT3
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